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Authors
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Grand Torino (2008) is an artistically and commercially successful movie, produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also plays the role of the main character. He stars as Walt Kowalski, an “old school” Polish American, who retired from a Ford factory, and whose sole love is a Gran Torino, a vintage vehicle that symbolizes the American dream. At first, he appears to be an antipathetic character, a bitter Korean War Veteran, who has recently suffered the loss of his wife, thoroughly despises his relatives, and prefers to live in solitude. When the Vang Lor, a Hmong family, moves in to his neighborhood, in Highland Park, Michigan, he frowns upon them, and blames the poor Asian immigrants for the increasing rate of criminality. However, gradually, Kowalski abandons his preconceptions and softens his racist attitude, thanks to his daily interaction with Thao, his young neighbor, whom he provides guidance to, and with his streetwise sister Sue. This picture presents a variety of questions regarding: a) the thorny issues aroused by inter-ethnic interaction; b) the different perspectives on society felt by the old and new immigrants; c) the eternal friction born out of the generation gap. I intend to examine these issues, analyzing not only the conflicts that derive from differences, but also the strategies employed to overcome them, in the context of the American kaleidoscope. In order to accomplish my objective, I resort to the movie, and to several essays and studies by experts in the field of Film Studies and Multicultural Sociology.
Description
Keywords
Grand Torino American dream Hmong Etnic interaction Hybridity
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Publisher
Centro de Estudos Interculturais